Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 1939 to 1952, interrupted by World War II production. Their station wagons were the most popular model, but also offered were sedans, pickups, convertibles, a sports car, and even a tiny jeep-like vehicle. For export, the cars were badged Crosmobile.
Crosley introduced several "firsts" in American automotive history, including the first affordable, mass-market car with an overhead camshaft engine in 1946; the first use of the term 'Sport(s-) Utility' in 1947, for a 1948 model year convertible wagon; and the first American cars to be fitted with 4-wheel caliper type disc brakes, as well as America's first post-war sports car, the Hotshot, in the 1949 model year.
All of Crosley's models were lightweight () body-on-frame cars with rigid axles front and rear, and engines with less than displacement. With exception of the late introduced Hotshot and Farm-O-Road models, the vast majority of all Crosleys were built on an wheelbase, and with leaf-springs.
History
Powel Crosley Jr. made his fortune in the automotive parts and accessories business, before diversifying into manufacturing other consumer products and Crosley automobiles in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925 his company became the largest manufacturer of radios in the world. The financial success of his manufacturing and radio broadcasting businesses provided the funds for Crosley to pursue his lifelong interest in manufacturing automobiles. He introduced the first Crosley compact car in 1939.
During World War II the Crosley company discontinued civilian automobile manufacturing and began production of war-time materials, including development of experimental vehicles. In 1946 Crosley resumed production of compact and subcompact vehicles at its facility in Marion, Indiana, in addition to introducing new models and innovations to its offerings. After gas rationing was discontinued and the Big Three car makers began producing larger cars, consumer interest in Crosley's compact cars declined. The last Crosley car rolled off the assembly line on July 3, 1952, and the company focused on its other, more successful business ventures.
Developer and company founder
Industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, owner of Crosley Broadcasting Corporation and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, among other business interests, had ambitious plans to build subcompact cars. Crosley had built his first automobile at the age of twelve, and in 1907, at the age of twenty-one, formed Marathon Six Automotive in Connersville, Indiana. Crosley built a prototype of the "Marathon Six," a six-cylinder automobile priced at US$1,700, which was at the low end of the luxury car market, but failed to fund its production.
After working for several auto manufacturers in Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana, and several more failed attempts to manufacture his own cars, including a cycle car model, Crosley found success in manufacturing automobile accessories as cofounder with Ira J. Cooper of the American Automobile Accessory Company in 1916, and bought out Cooper’s interest in the company. By 1919, Crosley and his younger brother and business partner, Lewis M. Crosley, had sold more than $1 million in parts and were diversifying into other consumer products.
Crosley increased his fortune in the 1920s and 1930s by developing, manufacturing, and selling inexpensive radios, such as the "Harko", the Crosley "Pup" and the "Roamio" models. The Crosley Radio Corporation became the world's largest radio manufacturer in 1925. It expanded operations at Camp Washington, a Cincinnati neighborhood, and began commercial radio broadcasting with WLW radio, considered "the Nation's Station." Crosley's company also introduced new consumer products and home appliances in the 1930s, including the "Shelvador," a refrigerator that had shelves in the doors, and other product innovations. The wealth that Crosley amassed from sales of these products provided the funds to diversify into other areas, including automobile manufacturing.
First Crosley automobiles
Beginning in the late 1930s Crosley developed low-priced compact cars and other pint-size vehicles. The first experimental prototype of the Crosley car was the 1937 CRAD (for Crosley Radio Auto Division) that had an rear track. With the assistance of his brother, Lewis, a graduate engineer, Crosley also designed assembly plants for his manufacturing operations at Richmond and Marion, Indiana.